Nick DePuy

In https://wheaton-labs.com/garden-master/, on iOS using Firefox, there is a goofy blank area between “about this course” and “event schedule “ with an odd character (see attached). This only happens in portrait, landscape looks fine.

So in looking at all these ideas, my brain went into engineering mode. How about an accessible keyhole wicking bed? The water tank could be narrow enough to get a wheelchair under the bed and then up against the reservoir. Imagine an L stood on its head with the horizontal leg being the bed.  Add a float valve in the reservoir and some supplemental wicks to help get the moisture to the edge and bam!

The soil directly over the reservoir probably would be hard to get to so planting low-maintenance perennials or leaving fallow would be advisable.

Honestly, I’ve not built my own wicking bed yet but now I’m thinking one of these as an herb garden to test the theory.

Time to fire up the CAD again!😁

Anyone with more experience please chime in.

Check out "Beyond the Pellet" by Boyd Craven Jr. and Nick Ferguson's fodder tree selections: https://rareplantstore.com/#pricing.  I can attest that my rabbits love willow and mullberry.  You do have to acclimate them slowly to let their gut bacteria keep up.  I've been working on building up my rabbits' gut bacteria for a couple months now and they still get runny poops occasionally.  I will say that they go APE over the fresh-cut grass hay. As soon as I open the bag (old feed bags), they all start bouncing around in excitement.

My next garden project will be a "bunny garden".  I'm sure that I will have to enclose it somehow to keep the wild rabbits out but it should be worth it.

Just navigating from the home page is difficult. In the past, I’ve listened to a podcast and wanted to check it out but really had to dig to find the link. Possibly adding links to show notes when boot camp is mentioned. Even when I click on the community button, there’s nothing that says “boot camp”. Maybe add a banner button along side of the “critters” and “growies” buttons. Or under intentional community, add links from the forums to the boot camp etc pages.

I don’t personally own cattle but I help out a lot with a friend down the road. I’d set up a temporary pen in the field near the pond they’ve been going to then get some friends to help you gently herd them to it. Once they are in, you should be able to approach them easier. Remember, you are a strange predator to them. If they weren’t handled much at the farm you bought them from, they won’t be used to human interaction. Look at them from the corner of your eye so you won’t seem as much of a threat. Treats and gentle petting (you’re right about that).

I’ve also heard (and noticed a bit) that genetics seem to have bearing on flightyness so they may never be easily managed. If that’s the case, I’d cull and look for better genes. Hope this helps!

Sage Chara wrote:I like the thought of turning it into an actual homeschooling curriculum that would teach the kids/parents along the way as an addition to their other studies, but may be getting a bit ahead of myself there :D

I don't think you'll have much luck getting BBs into the "official" curriculum, but presenting it to your Homeschooling groups (maybe with books in hand to loan out along with a QR code for the link) would be a great way to get this out.  Even with your baby still in the "oven", I feel like you could present this to the groups as added curriculum.

I can say as a parent who homeschooled for a year (kids wanted to go back to government school because they missed their friends) that incorporating BBs can be just a part of their daily lives (and yours too).  I did a number of these that I have said to myself "dang, I wish I'd documented that better". Both my kids are also in Scouts and there are plenty of things they do in Scouts that can be easily tweaked to fulfill both program requirements.  

One of our biggest challenges, even on a homestead, was keeping the kids busy after their school work was done and knocking out BBs would be a great guide to making that happen.  Safe tool use can start at a much earlier age than what is deemed "acceptable" in today's bubble wrap society. My daughter was 7 when she got to play with my air nibbler (for cutting sheet metal and hardware cloth) for the first time.  I showed both kids how to keep their hands away from the cutting edge, made them wear eye and ear protection, but didn't make them wear gloves. A few cuts and scrapes only made them more aware of what happens when you use tools.

This is a great idea! I've been wondering how to get the SKIP book out to more kids and your post has inspired me to donate a bunch to our Scout Troop as well as the school libraries.  THANK YOU for such inspired thought.

Thanks Paul and Nicole! We’ll look into both.

My click started with raising meat for a dog that was allergic to standard dog food. I discovered podcasts and then found Paul. Within about 5 episodes, I knew this was something I had to do. I’ve been forced to keep it under control, but I also am carefully dragging my partner into her version of the click.

So, if I bring my disabled wife, will she be fed to the bears? The kids will be off to their own lives (WHEW).

I am about to retire from the military and in approximately 3 years will be uprooting my wife and myself to move to another state.  Once we sell our current homestead, I'd love to come and spend some time working and learning (and eating PIE) with Paul and the crew. The big problem is my wife is disabled and even though she will be able to help around the house, some gardening, and caring for animals; she wouldn't be able to be relied upon for the entire time we'd be there or any long term strenuous labor. Most days she's perfectly able to keep up with our current homestead but some days she's lucky to be able to get out of bed.  Financially, we can swing providing our own food and basic needs, but she'd get bored just sitting around our future RV. Possible exchange for what she can do for COIN?

My main goal is to expose her to permaculture living to include living in a WOFATI and using a RMH. I see the vision, but she needs reassuring.  I also need some "eyes on" to determine how to build my own WOFATI and hands on with a RMH build.  If I were to be involved in a WOFATI build, that would be a bonus!

Would the BootCamp program be a good fit for us or is there an alternative program that would be a better fit? We'd probably want to stay for about 14 months, part of the reason we're moving is to get away from the cold so a Deep Roots package really isn't what we're after. A short term vacation renting a WOFATI wouldn't provide the scope she'd need, although living in one together (of course renting it) over the winter would be a necessity. Are there long-term rental agreements for a Boot?

This is complicated and I'm sure I'm leaving out some important details...